AI and FM – a cautionary tale

Abstract

Education and Medicine are two of the greatest achievements of humankind and this knowledge has been faithfully passed down by generations for millennia. Each generation builds on the knowledge of previous generations. High technological advances have also brought many advantages to humans but because they tend to be ‘owned’ by the very few, they have increasingly become commercialised and indeed weaponised. In a world of identity theft, cybercrime, scams, fraud, war and genocide, humanity needs to be very careful about trusting in the integrity of AI. Particularly, Family Medicine should always be based on the individuality of every patient within their unique circumstances. The Covid era saw a great change in the delivery of medicine and particularly in remote consultations. Telemedicine has now become entrenched in most countries, despite some limitations, and has added to the growing use of ICT in medicine. With a computer on most doctors’ desks globally, family doctors are able to take advantage of so many online facilities and sources of information. ICT has made the job easier but has also added levels of complexity and the need for added security. We already have ‘software’ as the ‘AI’ supporting many diagnostic choices. This software is a tool however, not a decision maker and the educated physician can access that tool for speed of diagnosis and recommended care. Asking a machine to make that diagnosis however is a totally different matter. Certainly national health authorities need to provide guidance and oversight of the resources doctors are using to ensure ongoing accuracy and safety. In the bigger picture should we be entrusting the world’s most valuable knowledge to competing tech platforms when the cyber world is already riddled with divisions and crime. Should not human health always be in the hands of humans, our well educated, trusted doctors who have insight into the intricacies of each individual patient’s life. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, family medicine